Hi Sweetbay, your flowers are so cheering and beautiful. We share many of the same ones, and your iris are all so stately. There is something so pure about a white iris, how nice that you named it for a loved one. But those azaleas steal my heart! :-)Frances

Nice blooming Friday! So many columbines to choose from. The rose cover arbor is breathtaking too. We just had a spiderwort bloom it had been neglected for years a little horse manure and some extra water really helped it.

I am so surprised the indigofera is blooming this early! A very good performer. You have such lovely colombine. So many~! This is like my first year growing the woodland phlox and I hope it self seeds well. Can you easily spot the seedlings? I hope you have a great day. Rain is coming-it is a good rain too.

How wonderful it must be to walk out in your wildflower meadow and see all those blooms. I love the little iris too. I don't have iris in my garden but I'm seeing so many I think I am missing out. who would have a garden without the columbines. A few more of those next year in my garden especially the smaller less showy ones.

Sweetbay, You already know that I love your garden...It's a great combination of wonderful natives and native friendlies! The columbines and iris are lovely...and I am completely charmed by indigofera. A great looking fabaceae that I am unfamiliar with...must google!

We have had a deluge of rain that has pounded the life out of our gardens...and made the little lawn area grow like mad!

I've really enjoyed all your pictures today - you've certainly got a lot of gorgeous blooms, this Friday! That pink rose on the trellis is adorable... and I was a bit surprised to see a flower named Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren should have been proud!I hope you're having a great weekend!Katarina

Sweetbay, I love your garden. I have enlarged all the pictures to get a good view, as I am not able to pop over and have a walk to admire and smell the scent of all the beauties you are growing. You have a fairy "tale-ish" house and garden. Love the tall trees and the pathways go past the Irises and columbines and.. and and... the sweety Pippi L. is charming and love the classy white one with the vanilla scent. Cute arbour covered by a very vigorous, beautiful rose. Is it a Cecile Brunner? There is so much to see and to admire. You have got a truly splendid garden and it is a pleasure to visit.

Happy May Day Sweetbay... Your garden is lush and lovely. I love the light thru your king iris and little pipi Longstocking is unusual like little pipi herself. What a paradise you have to walk out to and do you fertilize with the help of your horses?

Hi Rob, we found wild Geraniums growing here, and I also purchased some from the NC Botanical Garden, as they do look different although they're the same species. The ones at my place have fringed petals and are more lilac-colored than the ones from the Garden. They can grow in *very* wet conditions and simply go dormant in drought. They're not invasive at all, but once you have one you can soon have 50, as the tubers multiply rapidly.

Thank you Frances. I love the native azaleas too. The flowers are so intricate and delicate, and usually fragrant -- what's not to love?!

Hi Randy, yes, a lot of spiderworts do seem to like a lot of food, moisture too. My Hairy Spiderwort needs good drainage, but the rest (probably T. virginiana hybrids or cultivars) can be grown as wetland plants, or next to dry pines with some food. They're so versatile.

Tina, I was surprised to see the Indigofera bloom so early too. This is its first full year in the garden. I was surprised and impressed by its length of bloom time last year.

Marnie, I got Pippi in a trade with a lady in NC who has a lot of beautiful iris. I have been very impressed with Pippi. I wasn't sure how I felt about SDB before trying one but I love her.

Thank you Gail. :) I had been interested in Indigofera for years, and was lucky enough to get this in a local trade with another lady in NC who has a really interesting and extensive plant collection. This plant spreads by suckers so she usually has plenty to trade with.

I would love to see your horses! One of my failed dreams... oh well... I have a friend who is a great grower and her gardens all depend on her horses too! Just wanted to encourage you to get epimedium as you said you had thought about it... a wonderful plant for shade that will not disappoint! Returning I must comment on that azalea too ... gorgeous! ... and I love the sweet phlox mine have all been taken over by the invasive bishops weed that has drowned so many of my favorite plants... my gardens are now mostly survivors! Epimedium being one of them!

Hi CatherineI do love the columbine. I got a few seeds of Eastern Columbine and now have a colony, and I got a grab bag of columbine seeds from a trade. It's always fun to see what's going to come up from the trade seeds.